JPS6246897Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Purpose of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a ball joint used for steering, suspension, etc. of automobiles.

(Conventional technology) Conventionally, ball joints were developed in the 1970s.
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 156660, when wear occurs on the sliding parts, especially the ball head and bearing seat of the ball stud inside the socket, the limit wear amount of the ball joint is observed from the outside,
A system has been proposed that allows the user to determine when it is time to replace the battery.

In this ball joint, the spherical head of the ball stud is placed inside the socket via a pair of bearing seats, and a rod-shaped indicator that protrudes outward from the hole in the plug is integrated into one of the bearing seats. The through hole of the plug is sealed with an O-ring, and a coiled spring is stretched between the one bearing seat and the plug, and the rod-shaped display body is displaced according to the amount of wear on the sliding part. By changing the amount of protrusion, the limit amount of wear can be known from the outside.

By the way, in this type of ball joint, sufficient consideration must be taken to prevent water, muddy water, dust, etc. from entering the part where the rod-shaped display body protrudes, and the quality of this will determine the lifespan of the ball joint. Left and right.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned publication, an O-ring is arranged as a sealing member inside the hole of the plug through which the rod-shaped display body projects outside, and this O-ring is covered with a dish-shaped plate. It is held in place by an internal spring. That is, a dish-shaped plate with a rod-shaped display body passed through a hole in the center is arranged inside the bottom of the plug, and a gap surrounded by the bottom of the plug, the bottom and side walls of the dish-shaped plate, and the bar-shaped display body is disposed inside the bottom of the plug. An O-ring is inserted into the plate and a spring is used to press the dish-shaped plate, thereby compressing the O-ring and sealing it.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) According to the conventional seal structure described above, an O-ring and a dish-shaped plate must be placed inside the plug during assembly, and these must be pressed by a spring during assembly. , it takes time to assemble. In addition, due to the compression, the O-ring comes into contact with the bottom of the plug and the rod-shaped display body, respectively, causing two
It is necessary to seal at each location, and there may be cases where the sealing is not performed satisfactorily due to errors in parts.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a long-life ball joint that has a simple structure, is easy to assemble, and maintains reliable sealing performance over a long period of time.

[Structure of the idea]

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention comprises a socket 1 having an inner chamber 2 and openings 3 and 4 formed at both ends of the inner chamber 2, and a ball disposed in the inner chamber 2 of the socket 1. A ball stud 5 having a head 6 and a shaft 7 connected to the ball head 6 and extending outward from an opening 3 at one end of the socket 1, and a wall surface of the inner chamber 2 of the socket 1 and the ball. A pair of bearing seats 8, 9 interposed between the outer surface of the ball head 6 of the stud 5, and the socket 1 provided on one of the bearing seats 9.
A rod-shaped display body 12 extending from the opening 4 at the other end
and a through hole 19 that is attached to the opening 4 at the other end of the socket 1 and projects the rod-shaped display body 12 outward.
a seal member 20 provided in the through hole 19 of the plug 15 and into which the rod-shaped display body 12 is fitted, and a spring 2 interposed between the one bearing seat 9 and the plug 15.
6, a shoulder portion 13 with a large diameter is formed on the outer periphery of the base of the rod-shaped display body 12 of one of the bearing seats 9, and a convex portion 14 is formed on the end surface of the shoulder portion 13. The sealing member 20 has a cylindrical shape and is fixed to the through hole 19 portion of the plug 15, and has a through hole 22 formed in the central axis direction, and an inner circumference of the through hole 22. A plurality of annular grooves 23 are formed in the through hole 22, and the rod-shaped display body 12 is formed in the through hole 22.
are fitted and compressed in the radial direction, and the inner end surface 24 abuts against the shoulder portion 13 of the rod-shaped display body 12 and is compressed in the axial direction.

(Function) The present invention is based on the sealing member 2 fixed to the plug 15.
The rod-shaped display body 12 of one bearing seat 9 is fitted into the through-hole 22 of the sealing member 20, and the through-hole 22 of the sealing member 20 is compressed in the radial direction.
The shoulder portion 13 of No. 2 is connected to the seal member 20 via the convex portion 14.
The rod-shaped display body 12 is compressed in the axial direction by contacting the inner end surface 24 of the rod-shaped display body 12, thereby sealing the protruding portion of the rod-shaped display body 12 to the outside.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a metal socket, and this socket 1 has a substantially cylindrical inner chamber 2 formed therein, and openings 3 and 4 formed at both ends of this inner chamber 2. There is.

5 is a metal ball stud, and this ball stud 5 has a ball head 6 at one end,
A shaft portion 7 is integrally connected to the ball head 6. The ball head 6 is inserted into the inner chamber 2 of the socket 1.
The shaft portion 7 extends outward from the opening 3 at one end of the socket 1.

Reference numerals 8 and 9 denote a pair of bearing seats interposed between the wall surface of the inner chamber 2 of the socket 1 and the outer surface of the ball head 6 of the ball stud 5. Each of the bearing seats 8 and 9 has excellent durability. It is made of polyacetal resin, polyester resin, or the like that exhibits wear and friction properties, and has spherical seats 10 and 11 that are in contact with the spherical head 6. Further, one bearing seat 9 at the lower part of the figure is integrally provided with a cylindrical rod-shaped display body 12 extending from the opening 4 at the other end of the socket 1 at the center thereof, and this rod-shaped display body 1
A large-diameter shoulder portion 13 is integrally provided on the outer periphery of the base portion of 2, and an annular convex portion 14 is formed on the end surface of this shoulder portion 13. Note that the rod-shaped display body 12 and the shoulder portion 1
3 does not necessarily have to be integrated with the bearing seat 9, and in some cases may be formed separately and then integrated.

15 is a metal plug attached to the opening 4 at the other end of the socket 1;
As shown in FIG. 2, a mounting flange 17 is bent on the outer circumference of the upper end of the substantially cylindrical tube portion 16, and a lid portion 18 is formed on the inner circumference of the lower end of the tube portion 16.
A through hole 19 is formed in the center of the lid portion 18 and has a diameter larger than that of the rod-shaped display body 12 and projects the rod-shaped display body 12 outward. The plug 15 is attached to the opening 4 at the other end of the socket 1 by caulking or the like through the mounting flange 17, thereby closing the opening 4.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a sealing member fixed to the through hole 19 of the lid 18 of the plug 15;
is made of an elastic material such as nitrile rubber, and the second
As shown in the figure, a through hole 22 having a smaller diameter than the rod-shaped display body 12 and into which the rod-shaped display body 12 is fitted is formed in the central axis direction of a substantially cylindrical body portion 21 that is relatively long in the axial direction. A plurality of annular grooves 23 are formed on the inner periphery of the groove 22 . Further, the sealing member 20 is attached to the lid portion 1 around the through hole 19 of the plug 15.
8 are firmly fixed in advance by integral molding or vulcanization adhesive, and the inner end surface 24 on the inside is formed flat before assembly. The rod-shaped display body 12 is fitted into the through hole 22 of the seal member 20 so that its tip protrudes outward, and the shoulder portion 13 of the rod-shaped display body 12 is formed into a convex portion 14 on the inner end surface 24 of the seal member 20. It is pressure-welded through.

Further, an annular spring seat 25 is attached to the lower surface of one of the bearing seats 9 as shown in the figure, and a coil-shaped spring 26 is tensioned in a compressed state between this spring seat 25 and the inner surface of the lid portion 18 of the plug 15. It is set up.

Then, in the assembled state, by fitting the rod-shaped display body 12 of one bearing seat 9 into the through hole 22 of the seal member 20, the seal member 2
0 in the radial direction and deforms the shoulder portion 13 at the base of the bar-shaped display body 12 by contacting the inner end surface 24 of the sealing member 20 via the convex portion 14, thereby plugging the sealing member 20. 15, and is kept compressed in the axial direction to maintain airtightness.

In addition, the spring seat 25
It serves as a washer 6 and improves the strength of the bearing seat 9.

Note that the shape of the convex portion 14 of the shoulder portion 13 of the rod-shaped display body 12 and the shape of the inner end surface 24 of the sealing member 20 can be arbitrarily selected.

In such a configuration, when in use, socket 1
When the ball head 6 of the ball stud 5 rotates relative to the ball stud 5 and the ball head 6 of the ball stud 5 or the bearing seats 8 and 9 wear out, compression occurs between the bearing seat 9 and the plug 15. The pressing force of the spring 26 interposed in this state acts, and the ball head 6 of the ball stud 5 and the bearing seat 8,
9. Compensate for gaps due to wear. Due to this wear compensation, the bearing seats 8 and 9 are pressed by the spring 26 and rise in the figure, and the rod-shaped display body 12 also rises, and the wear state is indicated by the degree of protrusion. Therefore, if the protrusion amount of the bar-shaped display body 12 is determined in advance as the wear limit amount, the bar-shaped display body 1
When the tip of 2 moves to the end face of the plug 15,
That is, the wear limit is reached when the amount of protrusion becomes zero, and the service life of the ball joint can be easily and accurately confirmed.

Furthermore, during assembly, the seal member 20 is fixed to the through hole 19 of the plug 15 in advance, and the seal member 20 is integrated with the plug 15.
There are fewer parts to assemble, and the rod-shaped display body 12 only needs to be fitted into the through hole 22 of the seal member 20 when assembling the seal portion, making assembly easy. Also, connect one bearing seat 9 to plug 1
By fitting into the through hole 22 of the seal member 20 fixed to the seal member 5, the seal member 20 is compressed in the radial direction. 23, each groove 23 is formed with respect to the bar-shaped display body 12.
At the same time, the large-diameter shoulder portion 13 at the base of the rod-like display body 12 contacts the inner end surface 2 of the sealing member 20.
4 and is compressed in the axial direction, and the convex part 14 of the shoulder part 13 of the rod-shaped display body 12 bites into the inner end surface 24 of the seal member 20.
Therefore, the seal member 20 is compressed in the radial direction, and at the same time the convex portion 1 is compressed by the shoulder portion 13.
4, it is also compressed in the axial direction to ensure sealing.

Note that by putting grease into the groove 23 of the seal member 20, the movement of the bar-shaped display body 12 relative to the seal member 20 can be made smooth and wear can be prevented.

[Effect of idea]

According to the present invention, when assembling, the sealing member 20 is fixed in advance to the through hole 19 of the plug 15, and the sealing member 20 is integrated with the plug 15, so there are fewer parts to assemble, and moreover, the sealing part When assembling, the through hole 2 of the seal member 20
Since it is only necessary to fit the rod-shaped display body 12 into 2, assembly is easy. Also, one bearing seat 9
is fitted into the through hole 22 of the seal member 20 fixed to the plug 15, thereby compressing the seal member 20 in the radial direction, and at this time, the seal member 2
A plurality of annular grooves 23 are formed on the inner periphery of the through hole 22.
Since the grooves 23 are in contact with the bar-shaped display body 12, the bar-shaped display body 12 can be sealed at multiple points, and at the same time, the diameter of the base of the bar-shaped display body 12 can be increased. The shoulder portion 13 of the seal member 20
The seal member 20 is strongly compressed by contacting the inner end surface 24 of the rod-shaped display member 12 and being compressed in the axial direction, and the convex portion 14 of the shoulder portion 13 of the rod-shaped display body 12 bites into the inner end surface 24 of the seal member 20. At the same time, the shoulder portion 13 is compressed in the radial direction.
This enables compression in the axial direction via the convex portion 14 to ensure sealing.Moreover, since the sealing member 20 is integrated with the plug 15, the area where sealing is required is the rod-shaped display body 12. This makes it easy to obtain a reliable seal.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing one embodiment of the ball joint of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partially sectional view of the plug and seal member thereof. 1...Socket, 2...Inner chamber, 3, 4...Opening, 5...Ball stud, 6...Ball head, 7...
...Shaft part, 8, 9...Bearing seat, 12...
Rod-shaped display body, 13...shoulder part, 14...convex part, 15
... Plug, 19 ... Through hole, 20 ... Seal member, 22 ... Through hole, 23 ... Concave groove, 24 ... Inner end surface, 26 ... Spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] An inner chamber 2 and openings 3 and 4 at both ends of the inner chamber 2.
a socket 1 formed with a ball head 6 disposed in an inner chamber 2 of this socket 1
and a ball stud 5 which is connected to the ball head 6 and has a shaft portion 7 extending outward from the opening 3 at one end of the socket 1; A pair of bearing seats 8 and 9 interposed between the outer surface of the spherical head 6 and a rod-shaped display body 12 provided on one of the bearing seats 9 and extending from the opening 4 at the other end of the socket 1. a plug 15 that is attached to the opening 4 at the other end of the socket 1 and has a through hole 19 through which the rod-shaped display body 12 projects outward; A ball joint comprising: a sealing member 20 fitted with a body 12; a spring 26 interposed between the one bearing seat 9 and the plug 15;
A shoulder portion 13 with a large diameter is formed on the outer periphery of the base of the seal member 20, and a convex portion 14 is formed on the end surface of the shoulder portion 13. A through hole 22 is formed in the central axis direction, and a plurality of annular grooves 23 are formed on the inner periphery of the through hole 22, and the rod-shaped display is fixed to the through hole 22. A ball joint characterized in that the body 12 is fitted and compressed in the radial direction, and the inner end surface 24 abuts against the shoulder 13 of the rod-shaped display body 12 and is compressed in the axial direction.